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College football’s award season is coming quickly with semifinalists and finalists for various awards coming in the next few weeks. Among the awards is the Broyles Award, which recognizes the top assistant coach in college football. Today, the Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation released its list of nominees for this year’s award. All 56 of them, which is sure to keep more SIDs busy this time of year.

No school has more than one assistant nominated for the award and previous winners of the award from the past five seasons are not eligible. Clemson’s Brent Venables won the award last year, for example, so he is not eligible this season. This list of nominees will be trimmed to 15 semifinalists later this season, and that list will be cut down to five finalists for the award.

The Broyles Award was first awarded in 2010 to Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Malzahn is currently the head coach of the Tigers. In total, five Broyles Award winners have gone on to be a head coach, with four of those currently holding head coaching positions. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi (2013, Michigan State defensive coordinator), Texas head coach Tom Herman (2014, Ohio State offensive coordinator), and Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley (2015, Oklahoma offensive coordinator) currently hold head coaching jobs. Bob Diaco, who won the award in 2012 while at Notre Dame, went on to be named the head coach at UConn and currently is an assistant with Nebraska.

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LSU has certainly invested in its coaching staff, now under the leadership of Ed Orgeron. New details about the contract for new offensive coordinator Matt Canada reveal LSU’s newest coordinator will be paid $1.5 million per year over the course of his three-year deal, according to The Advocate.

Canada came to LSU after serving as offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh under Pat Narduzzi. Canada’s contract details at Pitt have not been revealed or recorded in USA Today’s annual database of coaching salaries, but it is very likely he was not getting close to this kind of money at Pitt. Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis was the nation’s highest-paid assistant coach in college football last season, according to the USA Today salary database. No other coach hit the $1.5 million mark, although Clemson’s Brent Venables was close ($1.43 million), as was supposed LSU target Lane Kiffin at Alabama ($1.4 million). Canada was a Broyles Award finalist this past season, so he has earned a chance to be among the highest-paid coaches in the game given his recent success.

LSU is also paying top dollar to its defensive coordinator, Dave Aranda. Aranda was the nation’s fourth highest-paid assistant coach last season with a contract paying $1.315 million in 2016. Aranda has since been given a raise from LSU and is earning a reported $1.8 million per year under his new three-year deal. LSU was paying Cam Cameron $1.211 million last season as well. Cameron was fired during the 2016 season along with former head coach Les Miles.

Having the best assistant coaches money can buy is always a nice perk, and LSU will hope paying their coordinators better than any other assistant coach will help Orgeron take the Tigers back to the top of the SEC. Paying top dollar brings pressure to win though, and if LSU struggles to take those next steps then we could be right back to square one in a matter of time.

Expect top assistants to continue to be paid handsomely moving forward though. Media rights deals and revenue shares from such deals pays well, and is a big reason why LSU has been able to afford such high assistant contracts. Canada’s base pay from LSU is set at $500,000 but the additional $1 million comes in part from media rights compensation. This is why schools in the SEC and Big Ten will likely be able to stay ahead of the pack in the coaching game more often than not, and why some assistant coaches may find it more lucrative to remain a coordinator at a program rather than take on a head coaching gig at some other spots.

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As soon as Ed Orgeron had the interim tag removed from his title by LSU over the weekend, the head coach got busy making sure he had the best staff in place to guide LSU in 2017 and beyond. One of the early steps was to secure defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. Mission accomplished.

Aranda has been signed to a three-year contract extension, according to a report from ESPN. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Aranda was already making $1.2 million for the 2016 season, the first on a three-year deal after leaving Wisconsin.

Keeping Aranda was a key objective for Orgeron, as Aranda is one of the top defensive coordinators in the nation and showed some good work with LSU this season. LSU finished the regular season ranked 12th in total defense and seventh in scoring defense.

Now, Orgeron must find a competent offensive coordinator. Lane Kiffin has been floated around as a possibility if they can lure Kiffin away from Alabama for the same role. Kiffin should also be a name worth watching for potential job openings for a head coach.

The fact Aranda is expected to remain in Madison is very important for the Badgers. Last season, Wisconsin ranked fourth overall in total defense. And Chryst made sure Aranda was his first call upon becoming the Badgers’ new head coach.

“[Aranda] has helped build Wisconsin’s defense into one of the best in the country over the last two years and the numbers back that up,” the head coach said in a statement when Aranda’s hire became official. “He is able to identify the strengths of his players and play to those strengths, which I think is the mark of a good coach. When Dave expressed a great interest in staying, I was excited because I believe it is a great fit.”

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Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator Dave Aranda will benefit from a job well done.

The Badgers finished fourth overall in total defense under Aranda’s supervision. However, the coordinator was left in limbo once Gary Andersen decided to leave Wisconsin to become the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers. Instead of bringing Aranda with him, Andersen decided to go in another direction by hiring Kalani Sitake away from the Utah Utes.

“Dave is the first person I spoke to when I got the job. I’m very impressed with his knowledge of defense and his ability to put together a game plan,” Chryst said in a statement released by the school. “He has helped build Wisconsin’s defense into one of the best in the country over the last two years and the numbers back that up. He is able to identify the strengths of his players and play to those strengths, which I think is the mark of a good coach. When Dave expressed a great interest in staying, I was excited because I believe it is a great fit.”

Chryst also brings his right-hand man, Joe Rudolph, with him as his offensive coordinator.

Rudolph previously served as Chryst’s offensive coordinator during their three seasons together with the Pitt Panthers. He built a relationship with Chryst when the two both served on Wisconsin’s offensive staff from 2008-11.

“I’ve worked with Joe for a number of years and have witnessed first-hand how good of a coach he is,” Chryst said. “He is very detailed oriented and has a terrific offensive mind. He preaches a tough, physical, smart brand of football that I believe is the foundation of the Wisconsin program. Being a graduate and having played and coached at UW, he truly knows what it means to be a Badger.”

Along with the coordinator hires, Chryst already zeroed in on a new secondary coach.

Wisconsin will hire Hawaii secondary coach Daronte Jones for the same post, according to a source.